Pride Themes

In Pride—a self-described “remix” of Jane Austen’s 1813 romantic comedy of manners Pride and Prejudice—pride is a reasonable and effective survival mechanism in the face of discrimination, yet it can also lead to misperceptions and prejudice against others. Pride’s protagonist, Zuri Benitez, is an Afro-Latina teenager who has lived her entire life in Bushwick, Brooklyn. She self-consciously fosters pride in herself, her family, and her neighborhood in part because she knows…

Pride represents money and class as overwhelming powers in society—powers that pride in one’s community, love, and personal goodness are simply not enough to combat. The novel illustrates the overwhelming power of money and class in two ways. First, teenage protagonist Zuri Benitez, a lifelong native of Bushwick, Brooklyn, worries throughout the novel that the Darcy family, rich newcomers to her neighborhood, are the first indicator that gentrification will sweep her family and people…

Pride represents change as a double-edged sword, neither wholly positive nor wholly negative. On the one hand, change can lead to good experiences and expanded worldviews. For example, when teenage protagonist Zuri Benitez’s older sister Janae comes home from her freshman year at Syracuse University after having spent her whole life in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Janae has developed a new perspective on life and new ambitions to travel the world—without having lost her love for…

In Pride, love of family is a virtue that crosses class boundaries. Teenage protagonist Zuri Benitez is immediately and positively characterized as protective of her family, especially her sisters. For example, when the rich Darcys move into the renovated “mini-mansion” across the street from the Benitez’s apartment building in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Zuri is almost immediately suspicious of the two teenage Darcy brothers, Ainsley and Darius, due to their interactions with her sisters. When…